To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many dedicated cycle routes have been brought into use since 1997. (147152)

These figures are not collected centrally. A cycle route is often made up of a combination of cycle lanes, cycle tracks and the local road network.

Some data on the number of cycle tracks and cycle lanes constructed since 2001-02 are held although they are not complete. Local authorities outside London have reported through their local transport plans they have built the following number of new cycle lanes and cycle tracks:

Similar figures are not available for London boroughs but Transport for London report that 531km of the London Cycle Network+ were completed by May 2006 with a target of 900km due for completion by end 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of staff in her Department are making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions; and what steps she has taken in the last year to encourage more people to make such contributions. (147340)

344 members of staff in Department for Transport (1.8 per cent. of the total number of staff employed by the Department) currently make additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay.

Pension scheme members receive an annual benefit statement showing the pension built up to date, and also a projection of pension on retirement if the member continues in service to scheme pension age. The benefit statement provides details of the civil service pensions website where staff can obtain further information, including options for making additional voluntary contributions to boost their pension.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in her Department have taken (a) five or more, (b) four, (c) three and (d) two periods of sick leave of less than five days in the last 12 months. (147052)

The number of staff in the Department for Transport who have taken periods of sick leave of less than five days during the financial year 2006-07 are:

The Department is committed to managing sick absence effectively and continues to look at initiatives to help reduce absence levels. The management process includes early intervention by Occupational Health and conducting return to work interviews with staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people in the West Chelmsford area had nine points on their driving licence at the most recent date for which figures are available. (148080)

This information is not readily available from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was raised in fines from traffic cameras in (a) the Chelmsford local authority area and (b) Essex in each of the last five years; and how much of those monies was spent on road safety plans in each year. (148077)

The information requested is not available for the Chelmsford local authority area. The audit certificates for the Essex Safety Camera Partnership for the last five financial years outlined in table A show the fine revenue from conditional offer of fixed penalties for offences detected by speed and red light cameras operating under the then National Safety Camera Programme.

Under the then netting off funding arrangements, safety camera partnerships reclaimed expenditure directly attributed to the prevention, detection and enforcement of offences. The amounts reclaimed by the Essex partnership in these financial years is set out in table B. The surplus was returned to the Consolidated Fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were fined for speeding in (a) Chelmsford local authority area and (b) Essex in each of the last five years. (148079)

The information requested is not available for the Chelmsford local authority area. The information on the number of people fined for speeding in Essex in the last five years for which information is available is set out in the following table and has been provided by the Home Office. This shows all speeding offences in Essex including those detected outside the then National Safety Camera Programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the merits of (a) selective catalytic reduction and (b) exhaust gas recirculation technologies as measures to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from vehicles. (148041)

Both Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and Exhaust Gas Recirculation are effective methods for reducing Nitrogen Oxide (NO_X) emissions from diesel vehicles. Exhaust Gas Recirculation is effective at low-medium engine load and can deliver moderate reductions in NO_X emissions. Selective Catalytic Reduction is effective up to full engine load and can deliver substantial NO_X reductions, but at higher cost than Exhaust Gas Recirculation.

Exhaust Gas Recirculation is already widely used on diesel cars and vans. Selective Catalytic Reduction is fitted to the majority of new Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and buses.

Selective Catalytic Reduction relies on the use of a consumable reagent to reduce NO_X. From November 2007, new HGV and bus engines are required to monitor emission control systems and limit engine power in the event of their failing to operate. This is essential to encourage operators to keep the systems maintained and the SCR reagent topped up, and so ensure that NO_X savings are actually delivered in operation.

The Department for Transport takes into account the capabilities and costs of specific technologies when developing the United Kingdom’s negotiating position on EU vehicle emission standards, but does not prescribe which technology industry should use to meet tighter emissions standards. Our Regulatory Impact Assessment on car and van Euro 5 emissions standards considered both of these technologies and can be found at

http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/closed/emissionstandardseuro5/

The Department is currently examining different potential scenarios for future HGV and bus emissions standards and will consider the future capabilities of both of these technologies in this exercise.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from vehicles. (148042)

Legislation to limit the emissions of pollutants from vehicles (including nitrogen oxide emissions) was first introduced in the 1970s. Particularly stringent standards, known colloquially as “Euro 1” were adopted in the early 1990s.

Since then, successive standards have progressively tightened emissions limits with new vehicles currently having to meet Euro 4 standards. The Department for Transport has fully engaged with the European Commission, European Parliament, other member states and stakeholders in developing these standards.

Between 1990 and 2004, these standards reduced the total quantity of oxides of nitrogen emitted from heavy duty vehicles by some 37 per cent. and from light duty vehicles (cars and vans) by 70 per cent.¹

¹ Table 4.15—UK Emissions of Air Pollutants 1970 to 2004, AEA Energy and Environment December 2006

However despite these reductions nitrogen oxide emissions from road vehicles, in particular diesel vehicles, continue to be an air quality concern in the UK and throughout the EU. For this reason at the end of 2005 the European Commission published a proposal for tighter Euro 5 emissions standards for cars and vans. I am pleased to be able to state that, not only have these standards been recently adopted by the European Council and Parliament, but that the UK also successfully secured a further (Euro 6) round of standards which tighten diesel NOx limits by 68 per cent. compared to current Euro 4 standards. This will put the permitted levels for diesels close to the very low levels of petrol engined vehicles.

We expect the European Commission to come forward with proposals to further tighten heavy duty vehicle emission standards late this year or early next. As usual the Department will fully engage in the negotiation of these standards.

In order to bring forward further improvements in air quality the Government offer financial incentives to purchase vehicles built to more stringent emissions standards in advance of the standards becoming mandatory. The Government offer such incentives through the Reduced Pollution Certificate scheme. This will, from October 2007, offer heavy duty vehicle and bus operators a reduction in Vehicle Excise Duty of up to £500 per annum for vehicles which are fully compliant with the next level of standards in advance of their mandatory application in 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason the M1 motorway was closed in both directions in South Yorkshire on 26 June; on whose authority such closure was made; and if she will make a statement. (148004)

South Yorkshire police closed the M1 on 26 June between junctions 32 and junctions 34 northbound and junctions 36 and 32 southbound in response to the threat posed by the possible failure of the dam at Ulley reservoir in South Yorkshire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what systems are in place to ensure that motorways are not unnecessarily closed for precautionary reasons when no incident, emergency accident or disaster has taken place; and if she will make a statement. (148005)

The safety of our roads and customers who use them is paramount.

For each unique occasion (such as recently on the M1) a full and detailed risk assessment is carried out and supported by consultation and advice taken from all appropriate parties, including the police, fire service, local authorities and the Highways Agency Traffic Officer Service. Consideration is given to all contributory factors to determine the level of potential risk posed to both public and workers' safety should no action be taken. Any full or partial precautionary road closure deemed necessary would follow where the risk to safety is calculated to outweigh the effect of disruption.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 24 May 2007, Official Report, column 1461W, on the National Roads Telecommunications Services project (NRTS), whether the NRTS will have the capacity to be used for (a) the detection of speeding and issuing of fines, (b) traffic and parking enforcement and (c) road pricing or congestion charging. (146885)

The NRTS network has the capacity to support existing speed detection and other traffic enforcement systems as required to implement the Highways Agency's operational regimes such as active traffic management.

No allowance has been made to support road pricing in the current NRTS network capacity calculations. If required, the network capacity could be increased to support such an initiative. However, no decision has been taken on any national road pricing scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 24 May 2007, Official Report, column 1461W, on the National Roads Telecommunications Services project (NRTS), whether the NRTS will interface with the automated number plate recognition infrastructure. (146886)

The NRTS solution is flexible enough to connect to a wide range of external devices which could include automated number plate recognition (ANPR).

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what objections were lodged by statutory consultees to port applications in respect of (a) London Gateway, (b) Dibden Bay, (c) Liverpool and (d) Harwich; and which of these objections were withdrawn during the application process. (148037)

None. There are no statutory consultees in respect of harbour revision and harbour empowerment orders for ports. Statutory organisations have the opportunity to make objections to draft harbour orders on the same basis as any other objector.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many objections from local residents and third parties were submitted in respect of port applications in respect of (a) London Gateway, (b) Dibden Bay, (c) Liverpool and (d) Harwich. (148038)

It is not possible to disaggregate precise figures for numbers of objections made in each case. The approximate numbers of objections made to the applications for harbour orders, including those by statutory organisations as well as local residents and third parties, were (a) 225 for London Gateway, (b) 6,140 for Dibden Bay, (c) 36 for Seaforth River Terminal at Liverpool and (d) 500 for Bathside Bay, Harwich.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations her Department has received on the train services operated by Great Western between London and south Wales. (147221)

Department for Transport has received approximately 30 letters and e-mails on First Great Western rail services between London and south Wales since January 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the terms of South West Trains’ franchise are on penalty fares; what assessment she has made of the company’s compliance with its franchise on penalty fares; and if she will make a statement. (147834)

The Railways Act 1993 Section 130 is the basis for charging penalty fares on National Rail. The subsequent (Penalty Fares) Regulations 1994 allowed for by the 1993 Act in turn provided for the creation of Penalty Fares Rules. These Rules were last revised in 2002 and under them any operator wishing to charge penalty fares must submit a scheme for the approval of the Secretary of State. South West Trains currently have an approved penalty fares scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has made of the potential for pollution along the east coast arising from the transfer at sea of oil from small carriers to bulk ocean-going tankers. (147797)

The Department has not made any recent assessment of the potential for pollution along the east coast of Great Britain arising from the transfer at sea of oil from smaller tankers to larger tankers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times the Highways Agency has used powers under Article 14 of the Town and Country Planning Order 1995 on her behalf; and if she will place in the Library a list of these instances. (147088)

With the sole exception of proposals for advertisements, all of the Highways Agency's responses to planning applications are issued under Article 14 of the General Development Procedure Order 1995. From May 2006 to May 2007 (last full year available) 2,672 article 14 responses were issued by the Agency to the local planning authorities. Details of each case can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to increase the minimum landing size for bass. (146910)

I plan to make an announcement shortly on whether and when to introduce an increased minimum landing size for bass.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether a partnership body has been established to coordinate work between the Forestry Strategy and the Biodiversity Action Plan. (148093)

I have asked the Forestry Commission and Natural England to prepare a joint action plan for implementing the recently published “Strategy for England's Trees, Woods and Forests”. No new body is being created, but this partnership will ensure good coordination with the Biodiversity Action Plan.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Woodland Trust and Natural England on the potential loss of European woodland to bio-fuels production. (147691)

No specific meetings have been arranged to discuss this topic. However, both bodies responded to the Department for Transport’s recent consultation on the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation Order and were reasonably supportive of it, provided there were strong sustainability safeguards. Although both organisations were concerned about deforestation in a global context, they did not specifically mention European woodland. The Woodland Trust, in particular, saw the increased demand for bio-fuels as providing an opportunity to regenerate ancient woodlands.

Views from these two organisations will continue to be taken into account when developing policy in this area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received since the launch of the Act on CO₂ calculator; and what assessment he has made of the impact that the calculator will have on people’s long-term energy habits. (147156)

There were 86,104 visitors to the Act on CO₂ calculator during its first week. We have asked people to comment on how to improve the current public trial version of the calculator and have had more than 300 e-mail responses from members of the public. We will take these suggestions on board as we introduce improvements to the calculator over the next few months.

The Action Plan at the end of the calculator gives tailored recommendations to users on how to reduce their overall carbon footprint by 20 per cent. The recommendations include looking at energy consumption in the home and cover both one-off and habitual behaviour changes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether additional funds will be allocated to Hengistbury Head in Bournemouth for coastal protection. (147898)

DEFRA has overall policy responsibility for flood and coastal erosion risk management in England. It funds most of the Environment Agency’s flood-related work and grant aids individual capital improvement projects undertaken by local authorities and internal drainage boards. DEFRA does not carry out works, nor direct the authorities on which specific projects to undertake.

Bournemouth borough council are the coast protection authority responsible for Hengistbury Head and they have been monitoring coastal erosion at this location. The Environment Agency has asked all operating authorities for their medium term plans for 2008-09 onwards. It is for Bournemouth borough council to decide on the inclusion of this, or other works, in their response to the Agency.

We will use new Outcome Measures from next year to set out more clearly what we wish our overall programme to achieve. Ministers will set targets and the Agency will make decisions on how best to deliver these by applying a prioritisation system agreed with DEFRA. Any scheme at Hengistbury Head will have to be considered as part of this prioritisation system and against the many other worthwhile coastal schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many judicial reviews brought against English Nature between 1997 and 2007 in the (a) High Court, (b) Court of Appeal and (c) House of Lords (i) were successful and (ii) resulted in an order for costs being made against English Nature; and what costs were awarded in each case. (146956)

There were no judicial reviews brought against English Nature between 1997 and 2007 in the High Court, Court of Appeal or the House of Lords.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what statutory duties relating to surface water drainage are placed upon farmers. (148335)

There are no such statutory duties placed upon farmers with regard to surface water drainage.

Landowners with frontages along a watercourse have a number of rights and responsibilities in relation to watercourses which flow through their land. These include a responsibility to ensure that water flows without obstruction through their land.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with his (a) Belgian, (b) Dutch, (c) German, (d) Norwegian and (e) Danish counterparts on the management of fishing stocks in the North Sea. (147004)

UK Fisheries Ministers have regular discussions with their EU partners at Agriculture and Fisheries Council on matters relating to the management of stocks in the North sea. Occasional meetings also take place with Norwegian Ministers on areas of mutual interest.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidents of fly-tipping were reported in each local authority in the South East of England in each of the last four years for which figures are available; what the estimated cost was of dealing with such incidents; and how many (a) prosecutions and (b) successful prosecutions there were for fly-tipping in each local authority in the South East of England in each year for which figures are available. (147094)

As it is quite lengthy, I have arranged for the information requested to be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking on the international trade of ivory; and what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the (a) Chadian, (b) Kenyan and (c) Indian governments on the matter. (147142)

The UK continues to take very seriously the threat to elephant conservation posed by ivory poaching. In recent years the UK, along with EU partners, has supported the establishment of baseline data to monitor illegal killing and trade in elephants and their ivory by providing funds to support the MIKE and ETIS programmes under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). During the preparations for the 55^th CITES Standing Committee on 2 June 2007, where approval of the stockpile sale was agreed in line with previously set criteria, the UK played an active role in considering the evidence.

At the subsequent 14^th Convention of the Parties to CITES which took place in the Hague in June, a longer term agreement was reached among African range states on ivory trade. Following a one-off sale of an amount of stockpiled ivory increased to take account of the passage of time, the proceeds of which are to be used for conservation purposes, it is now agreed that there will be a nine year resting period on any further sales of ivory. This will allow the effects of the one-off stockpile sale to be properly assessed. The agreement also includes the establishment of an African elephant Trust Fund to address elephant conservation issues across the continent. The UK fully supported this proposal when it was presented to the CITES Parties, and will be looking to monitor the reported impacts of the stockpiled ivory sales, and broader elephant conservation measures, particularly in its newly elected position as a member of the CITES Standing Committee.

There have been no bi-lateral meetings at a Ministerial level with Chad, Kenya or India specifically on this issue although my predecessor spoke to Julius Kipng’etich (the Head of the Kenyan Wildlife Services) and Prof. Kivutha Kibwana (the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources) in the margins of the Ministerial event at the Conference in June to assure them of our support for elephant conservation and to agree to meet later in the year to discuss this further.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what plans he has made for the safe disposal of mercury-containing energy-efficient light bulbs when the changeover from filament bulbs occurs in 2009; (148374)

In the UK, we have agreed an ambition with manufacturers and retailers to phase out the sale of inefficient light bulbs by 2011. The UK will be one of the first European countries to remove inefficient bulbs from stores; saving approximately 1.2 million tonnes of carbon by 2012, as well as saving consumers money on their energy bills. We also continue to support the European Commission in working towards regulating against inefficient bulbs by 2010, with a phase out over the following years.

There is no requirement for waste energy efficient light bulbs to be separately collected from households. However, since 1 July, energy efficient light bulbs have been required to be disposed of in accordance with the requirements of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. Householders will be able to take waste energy efficient light bulbs to designated collection facilities, in the main local authority civic amenity sites. From this point, producers will be financially responsible for their onward collection, treatment and recycling, where most of the mercury can be recovered.

Retailers have obligations under the WEEE Regulations to provide consumers with information on:

(i) the collection and take-back systems available to them;

(ii) their role in contributing to the reuse and recycling of WEEE;

(iii) and the potential effects on the environment and human health as a result of the presence of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

Under the WEEE Permitting Regulations, mercury must be removed from energy efficient light-bulbs where they are collected separately. A minimum of 80 per cent. by weight of the materials must be recycled or recovered.

Energy efficient light bulbs contain a small amount of mercury (less than 5 milligrams per lamp) and should be disposed of responsibly. There is increasing evidence that the mercury in each energy efficient bulb is considerably outweighed by the mercury put into the atmosphere through the additional electricity generation required to operate a traditional bulb.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the revised life cycle assessment (LCA) for disposable and reusable nappies in the UK will be published; and what plans his Department has for publicising the revised LCA on nappies. (146504)

The Environment Agency expects to publish a further report on nappies by the end of the year. This study is part of the Agency’s science programme and will be published on their website in the same way as other scientific reports. Any further publicity will be considered jointly with DEFRA and the Waste and Resources Action Programme, who are jointly funding the study.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if his Department will reassess the adequacy of financial support for the promotion of reusable nappies following the conclusion of the revised life cycle assessment; (147206)

The Real Nappy Programme budget for the April 2003 to March 2006 period was £2.3 million, with some funding continuing in 2006-07 to allow the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to meet existing commitments. No further direct funding is planned over 2007-08.

WRAP intends to hand over the work on real nappies to other interested parties during the course of this financial year. WRAP is currently discussing with a range of interested parties the possible arrangements for the future management of the Real Nappy Programme. Once WRAP has established the options, including funding needs, for taking forward this work, it will discuss them with DEFRA. It is, therefore, not yet possible to state DEFRA's future financial contribution, if any, to the Real Nappy Programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what total tonnage of sewage sludge was dumped in Liverpool Bay in each of the last 30 years; what assessment he has made of the long-term impact of sewage sludge dumping on the marine environment; and if he will make a statement. (146896)

My predecessor's reply to the hon. Member's similar question on 20 November 2003, Official Report, 1230W, estimated that a total of 40- 50 million tonnes of sewage sludge was deposited by water companies, and predecessor water authorities, in the north east Irish Sea/Liverpool Bay in the 30 years up to 31 December 1998. This practice was banned after that date.

The following table sets out the readily available information (1976 to 1998) on the annual quantities (tonnes) of sewage sludge disposed of in Liverpool Bay.

Monitoring of the historic sewage sludge disposal site in Liverpool Bay has continued since the end of disposal in 1998 under the auspices of the National Marine Monitoring Program, now the Clean Seas Environment Monitoring Program. I understand the disposal of sewage sludge in Liverpool Bay has appeared to have very little effect on the receiving marine benthic environment of the area.

A reduction in marine invertebrate community variability was observed during disposal activities and an increase in variability after the end of the activity. When reference and disposal site sediment samples were compared no statistical differences in sediment characteristics were identified.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what recent assessment he has made of the effect of tribulyte tin from the bulk of ships on the marine environment in the Irish Sea; (146890)

England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic will all have their specific mechanisms for monitoring and reporting on pollution in the Irish sea.

The main joint working on the state of the Irish sea is carried out within the framework of the Oslo and Paris (OSPAR) Convention for the Protection of the North East Atlantic to which the UK and the Republic of Ireland are contracting parties, where regular assessments are done, information gathered by the various organisations is brought together and assessments are made and published in the OSPAR Quality Status Report (QSR). The last QSR was published in the year 2000, and included a regional report on the Celtic seas. The next QSR will be published in 2010.

The UK has also recently published “Charting Progress” which provides the first integrated assessment of the state of the seas across the whole of the UK continental shelf. “Charting Progress” includes a feeder report on Marine Environment Quality which focuses on the impacts of human activities on the marine environment and its resources, and provides assessments of the status and trends based on current knowledge and information. Much of the information given below is derived from the OSPAR QSR and “Charting Progress”.

The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), together with colleagues in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland and the Fisheries Research Services in Scotland have carried out studies on the effects of tributyl tin (TBT) on dogwhelks in the seas around the UK, including the Irish sea. The results, based on surveys between 1994 and 2003, show that effects on reproduction only appear to be significant within a few hundred metres from point source discharges of TBT.

Regarding the impacts of nutrients, the UK completed an Assessment of the Eutrophication Status of UK Marine Waters in 2002 which found that the only eutrophication problem areas in the Irish sea were (a) the Inner Belfast Lough and tidal Lagan impoundment, and (b) Quoile Pondage in Strangford Lough. A further eutrophication assessment of UK marine waters, which is based on observations made between 2000 and 2005 and includes estuaries, is under way and will be published in 2008. The Environment Agency also monitors the eutrophication status of surface waters under the nitrates and urban wastewater treatment directives.

With regards to pollution incidents involving more than 0.01 tonnes of spillage which have occurred in the Irish sea, the Environment Agency's pollution incident database shows that there were 237 recorded incidents on or close to the Irish sea coast between 2004 and 2006. These cover a range of incident types and severities. Not all of these spillages or releases will have entered the waters of the Irish sea.

The monitoring of pollution in the Irish sea is carried out by a number of organisations in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Funds are generally allocated on a national basis and it is not possible to distinguish the specific amount of money allocated to monitoring pollution levels in the Irish sea.

The UK statutory bodies which monitor or fund the monitoring of pollution levels in UK marine waters are as follows: Defra, the Department of the Environment Northern Ireland, Welsh Assembly Government, Scottish Executive, the Fisheries Research Services in Scotland, the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, the Department for Transport, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Marine Coastguard Agency. Most of these will deal with some aspects of monitoring in the Irish sea.

A number of non-statutory bodies will also monitor pollution levels in the Irish sea, including marine institutes, universities, industries, and non-governmental organisations, but Defra does not hold records on this.

We are not aware of any recent assessments of specific direct effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (CBs) on the marine environment in the Irish sea. However, CB concentrations in sediments were measured at a number of sites around the UK between 1999 and 2002, with a number of samples in estuaries exceeding the ecotoxicological assessment criteria for CBs. Work is continuing on possible effects on marine mammals.

The UK Government cooperate with the Irish Government in the framework of the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the North East Atlantic through participation in its Joint Assessment and Monitoring Programme. Regular joint assessments of the status of the various regions of the North East Atlantic are made and, in the year 2000, a Quality Status Report (QSR) on the Celtic seas was published by OSPAR, which involved sustained contact between officials and scientists from all countries bordering the Celtic seas in providing the various assessments. Preparations are under way for the next QSR in 2010, and the cooperation continues.

The Joint Nutrient Study (Jonus) was a research programme carried out in the 1990s, which ended in 1999. The first phase of the programme established the extent of loss of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and silicon) from the water that passes through estuaries from the land to the sea. The programme established some general rules that could be applied in nutrient budgeting and how this knowledge could be used in the management of marine eutrophication. The second phase of the programme compared two sea areas in terms of the impact on aspects of marine biology associated with land based nutrient input. The programme established a basis for further understanding the need to manage nutrient inputs and the criteria that could be used to distinguish any undesirable disturbance resulting from anthropogenic nutrient enrichment. This knowledge has been deployed in support of assessments under the relevant EC directives and for the OSPAR Convention.

Information help by Defra on the funding for the JONUS programme (Joint Assessment of Nutrients Study) shows that between 1990 and 1995, for JONUS1, there were two main funding components with the Department of the Environment (DoE)/Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions (Detr) contributing approximately £0.5 million a year and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) contributing about £0.6 million a year. JONUS2 took place between 1996 and 1999. The broad levels of funding for each year were £0.8 million, £0.95 million and £0.25 million respectively.

Information on UK loads of lindane, mercury, cadmium, lead, zinc, lindane and PCBs is held centrally only for the period 1990 to 2005 and is reported to the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the North East Atlantic. Defra does not hold information on loads of nickel and arsenic.

Between 1990 and 2005, the estimated riverine and direct loads of cadmium, mercury, lead, zinc, lindane and PCB to the Irish sea (based on an average of the upper and lower values reported) reduced as shown in the following table. The figures include both naturally occurring sources of the metals and anthropogenic releases from point and diffuse sources.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department allocated to (a) researching and (b) implementing sustainable urban drainage systems in each year since 2000. (148337)

Since 2000, the Department has funded research relating to sustainable drainage systems as follows:

In addition, DEFRA is funding 15 pilot projects across England looking at integrated urban drainage issues in a broader context. Several of these include consideration of issues relating to sustainable drainage systems. The total project value is £1.7 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice his Department has given on the content of core strategies for waste disposal and waste treatment. (146785)

[holding answer 5 July 2007]: Waste Strategy for England 2007, published on 24 May, sets out a range of measures to achieve the key objectives of less waste, more recycling and recovery of energy from waste and better treatment of residual waste. The strategy and its annexes contain a wealth of information and advice that should inform the development of more local strategies on waste—by organisations in both the public and private sectors. The strategy is available at www.defra.gov.uk/waste/strategy and in the Library of House.

The Government expects all local authorities to have in place a fit for purpose and up-to-date Municipal Waste Management Strategy. In some two-tier areas this is a statutory requirement. Local authorities can be exempt from this requirement where they have met their recycling targets and obligations under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS), or for achieving an excellent or four star rating in their Comprehensive Performance Assessment. The Government have published two guidance documents to assist local authorities, setting out what Government expect strategies to contain and providing advice on the production of a strategy. Both documents are available from the waste pages of the Defra website.

Advice and support on business resource efficiency, including on reducing waste and recovering value from waste that is produced, is provided through the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme. This programme funds organisations such as the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the Environment Agency, Envirowise, National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) and Business Links to support businesses in effectively reducing and managing their waste.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department will be taking to reduce the amount of household waste not re-used, recycled or composted by 29 per cent. by 2010 as set out in the Revised Waste Strategy; and if he will make a statement. (146505)

“Waste Strategy for England 2007”, published on 24 May 2007 sets out a number of measures which will support the achievement of this target.

Examples of measures in the strategy that will drive waste reduction include:

(i) a consultation on proposals to remove the ban on local authorities introducing financial schemes to incentivise households waste reduction and recycling; and

(ii) establishing material and sector-based voluntary agreements with businesses, such as the agreement with the Direct Marketing Association to develop an opt-out for unaddressed direct mail to reduce the amount of unwanted direct mail.

Examples of measures that will increase the amount of waste re-used, recycled and composted include:

(i) reducing single use shopping bags through a retailer commitment to a programme of action to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags by 25 per cent. by the end of 2008;

(ii) extending national information and awareness campaigns to promote waste reduction and re-use measures; and

(iii) continued support for the Waste and Resources Action Programme's home composting scheme, which will distribute a further one million supported compost bins by 2008 alongside engagement with householders to promote the on-going use of their compost bins.

These, and other measures set out in the strategy, will collectively help to achieve the target of a 29 per cent. reduction in the amount of household waste not re-used, recycled or composted by 2010 in England.

Further details on these measures are available in the strategy which is available on the Defra website and in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the 59^th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission. (146218)

At this year’s annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the UK and other anti-whaling countries were able to sponsor and secure several key resolutions: calling on Japan to halt its lethal “scientific” research programme; promoting the non-lethal use of cetaceans; and reaffirming the continued need for the IWC moratorium on commercial whaling. This last resolution subsequently served us well in the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, enabling us to defeat proposals aimed at eventually allowing trade in whale products to take place.

My hon. Friends and ministerial predecessors, the hon. Members for Brent, North (Barry Gardiner) and for Exeter (Mr. Bradshaw) respectively, have recently jointly written to all hon. Members to inform them about the outcome of this year’s IWC meeting.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will provide funding for the workshop on wildlife trade on the internet to be established following the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. (146497)

The UK presented the proposal to convene a workshop to look at the scope of the problem of wildlife trade on the internet at the recent CITES Conference of Parties. The proposal was adopted by consensus by CITES Parties. DEFRA also announced at the Conference that it would be providing £15,000 towards the cost of organising the workshop once the initial data-gathering exercise on the scale of the problem of illegal trade on the internet has been completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to bring forward measures to require timber procured for use in the (a) public and (b) private sector to come from sustainable sources. (148127)

Central Departments in England are already required to seek to purchase timber and timber products that derive from legally harvested trees grown in sustainably managed forests. They are advised to do this by making the supply of legally harvested timber a condition of contract and by giving preference to sustainably produced timber if offered. From April 2009 Departments will be required to demand that timber from sustainably managed forests or timber licensed under the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade scheme only be supplied. From April 2015 Departments will be required to demand that timber from sustainably managed forests only is supplied.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will continue to promote responsible timber procurement to the wider public sector and to the private sector at home and abroad whenever suitable opportunities arise.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what percentage of staff in his Department are making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions; and what steps he has taken in the last year to encourage more people to make such contributions. (147318)

No Wales Office staff are making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions, but a small number of staff are buying added years through deductions from pay.

Pension scheme members receive an annual benefit statement showing the pension built up to date, and also a projection of pension on retirement if the member continues in service to scheme pension age. The benefit statement provides details of the civil service pensions website where staff can obtain further information, including on options for making additional voluntary contributions to boost their pension.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact of the education maintenance allowance on recruitment to work-based learning programmes; and if he will make a statement. (147837)

I have been asked to reply.

The Learning and Skills Council has commissioned a review of the effect of the extension of education maintenance allowance to work-based learning programmes through the Association of Learning Providers. The objectives of the review were to liaise with learning providers and key partners in the regions to identify key issues, areas of good practice and how these can be expanded to national level.

The review identified that although starts on the Entry to Employment (E2E) programme were down nationally at the beginning of the 2006-07 year in comparison to the same period in 2005-06, these have now recovered and recruitment is in line with 2006-07 projections,

A series of dissemination events took place to share good practice with the work-based learning provider network. The Learning and Skills Council will be undertaking an evaluation of the first year of extension of education maintenance allowance to young people in non-employed work-based learning and a full report is expected to be available in January 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2007, Official Report, column 1823W, on nanotechnology, what the split is between specialist and directed (managed programmes) nanotechnology funding and responsive mode nanotechnology funding within the research councils. (147470)

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) commits on average £30-35 million each year on nanotechnology in responsive mode, and in 2006-07 EPSRC supported £5.5 million of managed activity focused on nanotechnology.

The National Environment Research Council (NERC) currently supports grants on nanotechnology worth approximately £0.5 million from responsive mode and approximately £1 million through two separate directed programmes: the environmental nanoscience initiative (jointly funded by DEFRA, the Environment Agency and the national environmental research (NERC) and the environment and human health programme—jointly funded from NERC; the Medical Research Council (MRC); Wellcome Trust; the Economic and Social Research Council; the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), EPSRC, MoD, DEFRA and the Environment Agency.

In 2005-06, the BBSRC spent £3.328 million on nanotechnology through responsive mode and £1.039 million via directed initiatives. In addition, BBSRC funds research into the six nanotechnology application areas electronics, communications and informatics; drug delivery systems; instrumentation, tooling and metrology; novel materials; sensors and actuators; tissue engineering, medical implants and devices. Expenditure on these applications in 2005-06 was £8.868 million via responsive mode and £5.331 million via directed initiatives. BBSRC also funds nanotechnology and related research via core strategic grants to institutes and through studentships, to a value of £4.817 million in 2005-06.

All Medical Research Council and Economic and Social Research Council funding for nanotechnology has been in responsive mode.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether his Department classifies responsive mode nanotechnology funding in the same category as direct nanotechnology funding. (147471)

The research councils are responsible for determining the classification of their funding into various categories, including the distribution between responsive mode and directed/managed funding. The technology programme funding is through directed/managed programmes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many long-term grants for nanotechnology of (a) over four years duration and (b) over £5 million in value the Government has funded in the last 10 years. (147472)

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has funded seven grants over four years in duration. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council has funded 17 nanotechnology or related grants in the last three years, which have a duration of more than four years. It has also funded 12 institute core strategic grants projects with spend in four or more years on nanotechnology or related research. The Medical Research Council funds four long-term programmes of research in its institutes on nanotechnology. The technology programme has funded 18 nanotechnology grants of over four years duration.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has funded seven nanotechnology grants worth over £5 million, and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council has funded one large nanotechnology-related grant over £5 million value in the last three years. The technology programme has funded two grants over £5 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much of the £100 million invested in nanotechnology on collaborative research and development since 2005 was associated with (a) nanotechnologies and (b) micro-technologies. (147473)

The Technology Strategy Board micronano technology initiative has invested under two themes:

A portfolio of 56 collaborative research and development projects, broadly divided into 30 micro technology projects and 26 nanotechnology projects (although some have a cross-shared interest). The approximate division of support is £16.4 million (against £333 million project costs) for micro technology and £14 million (against £32 million project costs) for nanotechnology; and

The network of 24 UK based micro/nano technology centres with a total budget of £54 million where all of the centres address both micro and nano technology.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of responsive mode funding for nanotechnology research on the research base; (147749)

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) undertook an analysis of the nanotechnology research base at its nanotechnology theme day in 2005. This led to the development of the EPSRC nanotechnology strategy. The theme day report is available on the EPSRC website,

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Tools and Resources Strategy Panel is responsible for the BBSRCs strategy for bionanotechnology. It considered BBSRC's remit and investment in this area in December 2004. BBSRC has also contributed to development of the EPSRC nanotechnology strategy. In 2007, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) published a report on "Nanotechnology: from the science to the social" which presents an overview of the research landscape (available on ESRC website at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/).

The Taylor report commissioned by Lord Sainsbury in his capacity as Science Minister reviewed other countries' expenditure. Following the publication of that report officials undertook a series of visits to micro and nanotechnology centres of excellence and businesses in the US and Europe between 200land 2003 to investigate the range of funding mechanisms used. As a result the micro and nanotechnology manufacturing initiative was launched in February 2004.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what role his Department will play in helping the Government to meet their targets on creating trust schools and academies. (147739)

A number of universities and colleges are already working with academies and trust schools. The Department is looking forward to working with the Department of Children, Schools and Families to raise awareness among universities and colleges of the opportunities to work with trust schools and academies, and the benefits that school partnerships can bring to both schools and their partners.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what representations he has received on raising the cap on university top-up fees. (147738)

A number of views about the future of tuition fees and the financing of universities have been expressed to the Government. We promised at the time of the 2004 legislation that the fee cap would not be lifted in real terms until an independent commission had examined evidence from the first three years of the new fees regime. That remains the case. Draft terms of reference for the commission were published in January 2004.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the (a) average and (b) maximum student loan was in (i) Cornwall, (ii) the south-west and (iii) England in each year since 1997. (147506)

The available data are given in the following table.

The maximum amount of maintenance loan to which a student is entitled is dependent upon where they are living during their study, rather than their domicile, The rates are given in the following table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the Government expect the average debt to be of university students graduating in each of the next five years. (147522)

The Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2004-05, published on 30 March 2006, is a comprehensive study on students' income, expenditure, borrowing and debt. It showed that English domiciled full-time students graduating in the academic year 2004-05 anticipated, on average, a total debt of £7,918. For those commencing courses after the introduction of variable fees in the 2008-07 academic year we expect average student debt of around £15,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many university students received student loans in (a) England, (b) the South West and (c) Cornwall in each year since 1997. (147541)

[holding answer 4 July 2007]: The available data are given in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) what plans he has to expand the number of businesses making the Skills Pledge in relation to Train to Gain; whether there is a minimum standard of training for such businesses; and if he will make a statement; (147789)

On 14 June the Government launched the Skills Pledge with commitments from 157 employers with more than 1.7 million employees. Since the launch, businesses have continued to register their interest in the Skills Pledge through the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) Train to Gain website and helpline. The Learning and Skills Council is responsible for the operational aspects of the Skills Pledge, including the size and location of every employer making a skills pledge. I have asked Mark Haysom to write to the hon. Member and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Every employer that makes a skills pledge is given access to a skills broker who will work with them to ensure that they better understand the skills needs of their business and to help them source the highest quality provider to meet those needs. As part of our ongoing drive on quality the Government launched, in June, a new standard for employer responsiveness and vocational excellence in providers. The new standard will be an improvement tool for providers and will offer employers a single employer-verified badge to look for when sourcing workforce development provision. This will help employers to get best value for money from their investment in training by both reducing the time taken to source the highest quality provision and improving the quality of provision overall.

The Government continue to develop new and innovative web based tools to support employers in all their business aspects. There is already a web based registration process for employers to register their details and the LSG are currently reviewing a range of diagnostic tools with a view to posting or referencing these on the Skills Pledge website. Skills Brokers, as part of their business analysis, will help employers find e-tools that will enable them to help themselves, including Investors in People interactive— a web based tool provided through our support for Investors in People which will be available from November 2007 and the Business Performance Diagnostic which is available through Business Link. In line with the Government's e-strategy we shall continue to develop further tools where employers tell us there is a real demand.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what training and qualifications skills brokers in the Train to Gain scheme must have. (147791)

Train to Gain is a new service that reached national coverage in August 2006 and is a critical part of the drive to make this country's skills world class. Skills brokers are contracted for and performance managed by the Learning and Skills Council. It is a contractual requirement that, within 12 months of their appointment, every skills broker meets the new independently assessed City and Guilds accredited skills broker standard as part of the Business Support Profession.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his targets for academies are on (a) the total number of (i) institutions and (ii) pupil places and (b) geographical distribution. (147742)

The Government are firmly committed to establishing 400 academies, There are no pre-determined targets relating to pupil places or their geographical distribution. The academies programme targets areas of inadequate educational attainment. Some academies are brand new schools in areas which need the extra places but most academies replace weak or under-performing schools. Academies will be established in areas where the need is greatest and we expect that this will produce a wide geographical distribution.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many academies he expects to be opened in each of the next five years. (147743)

There are now 47 open academies. By September 2007 we expect there to be 82 open academies, and a further 50 are projected to open in September 2008. The number of academies that open in subsequent years will depend on the final allocation of the Department's comprehensive spending review settlement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which buildings his Department occupies; and which buildings were occupied by the Department for Education and Skills on 26 June 2007. (147809)

The Department for Children, Schools and Families occupies the following five buildings:

Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith street, London;

Caxton House, Tothill street, London;

Moorfoot, Sheffield;

Castle View House, Runcorn;

Mowden Hall, Darlington.

The same five buildings were also occupied by the Department for Education and Skills on the 26 of June 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost was of creating signs displaying his Department's name for ministerial offices. (147808)

There are no signs displaying the Department's name on ministerial offices, and therefore no costs were incurred.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on what date a new sign for his building was commissioned. (147874)

We commissioned a new sign for the Department for Children, Schools and Families on 28 June 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent on external consultancy fees involved in the (a) relocation and (b) re-branding of his Department, broken down by (i) company involved and (ii) services provided since 26 June. (147875)

There was no spend on consultancy relating to relocation or re-branding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether (a) he and (b) Ministers or officials from his Department attended the meeting of the National Missing Persons Strategic Oversight Group on 27 June; what steps his Department is taking following the meeting; whether he expects to attend the next meeting; and if he will make a statement. (148110)

The Missing Persons Strategic Oversight Group is chaired by the Association of Chief Police Officers and is primarily supported by Government through the Home Office. DCSF officials attend by invitation, and one of my officials attended the last meeting on 27 June. Officials will continue to attend future meetings, reporting back to me through the usual management channels.

At the June meeting, provisional recommendations from our joint work with The Children's Society on young runaways were discussed. We expect to be discussing these further with The Children's Society over the weeks to come, along with any other options for further action that the report presents.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which responsibilities of the former Department for Education and Skills his Department holds; whether responsibilities have been transferred to his Department from any other department; and what (i) agencies and (ii) other bodies his Department is responsible for. (147748)

I refer the hon. Member for Havant to:

the Prime Minister's written ministerial statement of 28 June 2007, Machinery of Government—Departmental Organisation; and

the document, ‘Machinery of Government: Departmental Organisation’, available on the Cabinet Office website at:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/reports/government_changes/index.asp.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Portacabin classrooms are in use in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local education authority area in England. (147815)

Temporary buildings data supplied to my Department by local authorities do not show the names of manufacturers.

Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996-97 to £6.4 billion in 2007-08 and will rise further to £8.0 billion by 2010-11. Progress is being made year-by-year in improving the quality of the school building stock. The bulk of schools capital is now allocated by formula to authorities and schools so that they can address their local priorities, including the replacement of decayed temporary accommodation, on which we have set a high priority. Given the high levels of funding, authorities have the opportunity to replace temporary buildings where they are considered to be unsuitable.

Modern, high quality mobile or demountable buildings provide a good environment for teaching and learning where there is short-term need. They might, for instance, be needed to cope with a short-term increase in pupil numbers, or where extensive remodelling or rebuilding of permanent accommodation means providing temporary accommodation on the school site, rather than transporting children elsewhere.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he plans to set a target for clearing repairs to school buildings identified as required but unfunded in the Asset Management Planning data collected from local education authorities in 2005. (148139)

Together with any backlog maintenance, the asset management planning condition data supplied to the Department by local education authorities show future requirements over a five-year period. The backlog component is not specifically identified, but it is estimated that future requirements account for the majority of the costs shown in the data. All buildings suffer dilapidation and maintenance is regularly needed to counter this. It is not viable to eliminate future maintenance requirements, but the backlog is being tackled and the cost of urgent work has reduced by approximately 30 per cent. against the data received in 2001.

Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996-97 to £6.4 billion in 2007-08 and will rise further to £8.0 billion by 2010-11. The bulk of schools capital is allocated by formula to authorities and schools so that they can address their local priorities, including maintenance. While reducing maintenance requirements is a long-term aim, the primary objectives for funding are to raise educational standards and tackle local deprivation. A substantial proportion of capital funding is targeted at transformational programmes, such as Building Schools for the Future and the Primary Capital Programmes. Over time, these programmes will significantly reduce future maintenance requirements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with Essex local education authority on secondary education provision in Colchester constituency; and if he will make a statement. (147863)

[holding answer 5 July 2007]: Senior officials from the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) including the Schools Commissioner, have met officers from Essex county council to discuss, among other issues, secondary school provision in Colchester. There is continuing concern about standards at Alderman Blaxill School, Sir Charles Lucas Arts College and The Thomas Lord Audley School and Language College, all of which are currently in special measures.

DCSF officials and council officers are therefore urgently considering plans for improvement at all these schools. The Department will also work with the local authority on its future strategy for secondary provision in the area, including objectives of securing greater diversity of provision associated with school rebuilding under the Building Schools for the Future programme

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the financial value was to the agricultural industry of the agricultural building tax relief in the years between 2000 and 2006. (147989)

The corporation tax benefit of agricultural buildings allowances is estimated to have been £5 million in 2002, £6 million in 2003, £7 million in 2004 and £6 million in 2005. Figures for other years are not available.

The corresponding figures for unincorporated businesses cannot be reliably estimated separately from industrial buildings allowances.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the percentage of average earnings growth in each month of financial year 2006-07 which was attributable to bonuses. (148561)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 9 July 2007:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the percentage of average earnings growth in each month of the financial year 2006-07 which was attributable to bonuses. I am replying in her absence. (148561)

The information you have requested is not available from the systems used to compile the Average Earnings Index. However, it is possible to see the effect of bonuses by comparing the growth rates for the two series ‘Average Earnings—including bonuses’ and ‘Average Earnings—excluding bonuses’ published in Tables 15 and 16 respectively of the Labour Market Statistics First Release. The information is presented below for convenience.

Note that in March 2007 the growth rate for the including bonus series showed lower growth than the growth rate for the excluding bonus series. This means that in March bonuses were growing at a lower rate than regular pay.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many deaths (a) clostridium difficile, (b) MRSA and (c) acinetobacter has been reported as (i) contributing to and (ii) causing death. (148479)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 9 July 2007:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking in how many deaths (a) clostridium difficile, (b) MRSA and (c) acinetobactor has (i) been reported as contributing to and (ii) causing death. I am replying in her absence. (148479)

Special analyses of deaths involving MRSA and Clostridium difficile are undertaken annually by ONS for England and Wales. These are published annually in Health Statistics Quarterly.

The latest year for which such figures are available is 2005. These data were released in “Health Statistics Quarterly 33” which is available in the House of Commons library and on the National Statistics website.^1,2,3 These reports contain tables of the number of deaths where MRSA and Clostridium difficile were reported as the underlying cause of death or were mentioned anywhere on the death certificate.

There are no routine statistics on deaths involving the gram negative bacterium acinetobacter. Doctors completing death certificates are asked to state the diseases, for example pneumonia, meningitis or septicaemia, which caused or contributed to death. They sometimes specify the micro-organism responsible for such infectious diseases, for example meningococcus, streptococcus pneumoniae etc, but are not required to do so. Indeed, they may not know the organism responsible when certifying the death, or there may be more than one. In addition, causes of death are classified using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). As its name implies, this is a classification of diseases not micro-organisms.

It includes codes for only a limited range of common pathogens. There is no code in any revision of the ICD for acinetobacter.

¹ Office for National Statistics (2007) Report: Deaths involving Clostridium difficile: England and Wales, 2001-05. “Health Statistics Quarterly” 33, 71-75.

² Office for National Statistics (2007) Report: Deaths involving MRSA: England and Wales, 2001-05. “Health Statistics Quarterly” 33, 76-81.

³ http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=6725

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people aged (a) 0 to 18, (b) 18 to 24, (c) 25 to 50, (d) 50 to 65, (e) 66 to 84 and (f) 85 years and over held current bank accounts in each region covered by the regional development agencies at the latest date for which figures are available. (148073)

The most recent data available that allows assessment to be made of levels of bank account holding is the Family Resources Survey from 2005-06. The information in the survey is at household level, not individual level.

This data is broken down to Government office regional level and age of the household reference person (the owner of the household property, or the household member with the highest income).

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that the number of carers is counted in the 2011 Census. (148072)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 9 July 2007:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking that the number of carers is counted in the 2011 Census. I am replying in her absence. (148072)

The inclusion of a question on carers on the 2011 Census is still being considered and the importance of the topic and the value of the data are recognised. Its inclusion is dependent upon space available on the census questionnaire and the requirements from statistics users for competing questions. Consultation on the content of the 2011 Census has identified demand for about six pages worth of questions per person. However, cost constraints and the burden on respondents are likely to limit space to three pages of questions per person and so there are difficult choices to be made.

The final decision on the content of the 2011 Census will ultimately be for Parliament to make.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) financial aid and (b) assistance was provided by the Government to each of Her Majesty's Crown dependencies in 2005-06. (145718)

The Treasury itself made no such payments in 2005-06. In April 2006 it made a payment of some £585,000 to Jersey. This was a refund of Crown hereditary revenues that Jersey had previously paid into the Consolidated Fund. The refund of such receipts is a long-standing arrangement required by the Jersey and Guernsey (Financial Provisions) Act 1947. The Treasury has no knowledge of any payments to the Crown dependencies by other Government Departments.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department paid to Common Purpose in each of the last five years; for what purpose; and what the outcome of the expenditure was. (147606)

The payments made by the Treasury to Common Purpose in each of the last five years were as follows:

The payments were for training courses and events. Records of the outcome of the expenditure are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost is of all private finance initiative projects for which his Department has responsibility completed since 1997; and what the projected cost is of such projects commissioned or under way. (148020)

The Treasury has one completed PFI project which relates to the 1 Horse Guards Road building. There are no other projects commissioned or under way. Full details of the 1 Horse Guards Road PFI project have been included in the Treasury's resource accounts in each year since the project's inception in 2002-03. The Treasury's 2006-07 Annual Report and Accounts, including the resource accounts, are available from http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/departmental_reports/annual_report07.cfm. and the resource accounts for earlier years are available from www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/resourceaccounts/resourceaccounts_index.cfm. The 1 Horse Guards Road project is also included in the list of signed PFI deals at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public_private_partnerships/ppp_pfi_stats.cfm, which projects total unitary charge payments, including capital repayments and services, up until 2033-34. The projections for service costs are conditional on the performance of the private sector contractor.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many mothers are in employment. (148462)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 9 July 2007;

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about how many mothers are in employment. I am replying in her absence. (148462)

Estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) show that in the three months ending June 2006, there were 4.84 million working-age mothers in employment who had dependent children. Dependent children are defined as children aged under 16 and those aged 16-18 who are never-married and in full-time education. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the regional distribution was of software-related employment according to the Labour Force Survey (a) in 2001 and (b) in the most recent period for which figures are available. (148074)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 9 July 2007:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about software-related employment by region. I am replying in her absence. (148074)

The attached table gives the numbers of people employed in software-related occupations by region for the three months ending December for both 2001 and 2006. For the purpose of this question, software related occupations have been defined as information and communication technology managers, IT strategy and planning professionals, software professionals, IT operations technicians, IT user support technicians, database assistants and clerks, computer engineers installation and maintenance. The data are not seasonally adjusted.

Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. This is particularly true for some 4-digit occupational codes given in the table.